Article: Miguel Sano And Negativity Bias

[Thrylos]

 

 

. I do wonder which Twins person gave Souhan that information off-the-record.

 

This is not the first time that Souhan has been negative towards a Twins' player.  Matter of fact, he has been the mouthpiece of the TR&Co FO as far as "outing" players from Slowey to Neshek etc.  Plenty of the TR&Co FO still in place.  I would not doubt that at least one of them has been Souhan's source, since day 1, but I hope that this person is no longer with the Twins after the season is over...

[mazeville]

 

 

It can. I just haven't seen any remote evidence of it being the case here. There was none presented in the column. The injury was sloppily thrown in as some way to build timely relevance for his point, at least as I read it. 

 

It's a well established fact that conditioning and weight impact injury recovery. Could he have included more medical evidence to support this? Sure. But it's hardly a new idea. 

 

And as a reminder, since this column has come out, it's been reported that Sano will likely take longer to come off the DL and could be kept from playing third base as a result:

 

http://www.twincities.com/2017/08/25/miguel-sano-not-much-closer-to-returning-to-twins-lineup/

 

Now, maybe the slow recovery has nothing to do with weight. But given that the team fed a local columnist concern about Sano's weight and now he's recovering slowly enough that he'll take longer to come off the disabled list, boy it sure looks like that might be an issue here. 

 

And again, it's potentially keeping the team's biggest weapon from the lineup during a playoff push. If that's not a reason for concern, and a potential column, I don't know what is.

 

I'm not saying all this because I loved the column -- frankly, the comment about "bags of fast food" was annoying; come on, Jim, these are 20-something dudes here -- but athlete conditioning in the modern era is a legitimate topic of discussion.

 

And on this site, Sano's weight is a FREQUENT topic. Just read comments about how Sano should be DH in a couple of years ... 

[drjim]

 

This is not the first time that Souhan has been negative towards a Twins' player.  Matter of fact, he has been the mouthpiece of the TR&Co FO as far as "outing" players from Slowey to Neshek etc.  Plenty of the TR&Co FO still in place.  I would not doubt that at least one of them has been Souhan's source, since day 1, but I hope that this person is no longer with the Twins after the season is over...

 

This may be true, but I have also heard some pushback on the narrative that the Twins FO, or at least anyone high up, was responsible for pushing that information to Souhan. It may be more of Souhan just exaggerating or making stuff up than we think.

 

The example cited was Garza, so might not apply to Slowey or Neshek.

[Vanimal46]

 

This may be true, but I have also heard some pushback on the narrative that the Twins FO, or at least anyone high up, was responsible for pushing that information to Souhan. It may be more of Souhan just exaggerating or making stuff up than we think.

 

The example cited was Garza, so might not apply to Slowey or Neshek.

 

Yep. He's done that before in the past just to get people riled up. I don't know why people are taking his word now just because he wrote "people inside the Twins' organization" in an opinion article. 

[Doomtints]

 

Yep. He's done that before in the past just to get people riled up. I don't know why people are taking his word now just because he wrote "people inside the Twins' organization" in an opinion article. 

 

If he were to lie he would lose access to the team, no doubt.

[Doubles]

I don't get why this is being framed as being some sort of egregious breach of confidence or 'leak' of classified information.    Sano's a big rig-  that shouldn't be a revelation of any sort to anyone with sight.   

 

 

 

 

[Doomtints]

 

I don't get why this is being framed as being some sort of egregious breach of confidence or 'leak' of classified information.    Sano's a big rig-  that shouldn't be a revelation of any sort to anyone with sight.   

 

Right. This is a "shooting fish in the barrel" article. This stuff will be written as long as Sano is in MN.

[Jham]

I'm sure the Twins are concerned about all their players and whatever issues are specific to them, including Sano and his weight. And they should be, I'd question it if they weren't. And I have no problem with that. My issue with some of the concern expressed by others are the assumptions that seem to go along with it. Some of these assumptions seem to imply a willfull and knowing disregard by Sano about this concern. That is the bias. I've read hints and accusations that given his size he then must have a poor work ethic, no discipline, he's lazy, or he doesn't care or doesn't try. All things damaging to and demeaning Sano's character as a player. That, to me, is the problem with the piece that Souhan wrote, and the problem with some of the responses. It doesn't matter that he couched some of this in obvious compliments, either... Gee, that's a stunning outfit you're wearing, but it would look so much better if you weren't so fat.

"Sano possesses hall of fame talent, and he works at the game. He has improved dramatically at third base and he takes intelligent at bats." Jim Souhan.

 

Who is implying he's lazy or doesn't care? Who's bias is showing through in your interpretation...

[mazeville]

 

Yep. He's done that before in the past just to get people riled up. I don't know why people are taking his word now just because he wrote "people inside the Twins' organization" in an opinion article. 

 

We take his word for it because the team's longest tenured current beat writer backed Souhan's article, and the fact that he got it from inside the clubhouse. 

[mazeville]

 

I don't get why this is being framed as being some sort of egregious breach of confidence or 'leak' of classified information.    Sano's a big rig-  that shouldn't be a revelation of any sort to anyone with sight.   

 

This.

 

Numerous people on this site point out Sano's weight and insist he should be at first or DH. 

 

Personally, I don't think he should be at first or DH. I think he should remain at third, where he's worked hard and has made significant improvements. But I ALSO believe it's perfectly fair to expect a team to push a young player to think about conditioning and weight to ensure he has the best chance at a long and healthy career.

 

It's not saying he's lazy, or he has no work ethic. It's just saying that conditioning is a part of the game that players have to pay attention to. The Twins, and Jim Souhan, don't believe Sano is doing enough on that front.

[MN_ExPat]

That's fair. I find it hard to believe that losing a little weight would hamper him in a meaningful way, and would have benefits.

The k rate is interesting to consider. If hr cuts it 5-10% he is an absolute monster. If it rises 5-10% more he will struggle to stay in the league. He is living a little dangerously. I personally think he will make the adjustments and bump it down a little. Remains to be seen if that costs him power.

What like Jose Bautista rates?

[Lefty]

As long as Sano can react to a negative article/statement made by Souhan the way Gibby has over his last few starts... Great!  

Souhan is unreadable for me.  He's just a waste of time.  Maybe he thrives on the same bit as the Common Man does, but at least we all know that Common is just a clown. Souhan seems to take himself seriously and think that he is all-knowing.  Can't stand him, makes me wanna puke.  Go Twins. 

[KirbyDome89]

So we're certain that Sano isn't at a healthy weight?

 

All I see so far is speculation that he isn't and somehow that is enough to uphold the article and support the claims about about his recovery time. 

[Doubles]

 

So we're certain that Sano isn't at a healthy weight?

 

All I see so far is speculation that he isn't and somehow that is enough to uphold the article and support the claims about about his recovery time. 

 

I don't think the gist of the column was necessarily to be in the current tense.  I read it as more of a cautionary tale of where Sano may be heading in the near future.

 

"Sano is 24 and until this week he had not suffered any injuries related to his bulk, but even his strength and assorted other athletic gifts will not allow him to be the player he should be if he isn’t careful."

[Kwak]

I see different things:  a blog that is almost a "fan club"--stopping short of asking for a credit card to buy votive candles and "inside access" and a dying media outlet desperate to maintain circulation in order to maximize advertising revenue.  At least the contrast of tone gives rise to some semblance of reality in "Twinsville".

[Brandon]

Its good to see Minnesotans go Donald Trump on the media and call them out for fake news.

[djvang]

I like Reusse most of the time but life is too short to waste it reading Souhan. Too much pious virtue signalling from him.

[kellyvance]

Are these scribes calling Sano lazy? They'll say no, but the columns undoubtedly lead the reader in that direction. Which is ironic, since what's truly lazy is the story line these veteran newspapermen keep peddling.Sano is an easy target for errant criticism, because he is big, and he strikes out a ton. You could argue both are inhibiting factors, but they are part of who he is. Every player has his inhibiting factors, and in this case, they also contribute to what makes Sano great.

 

 

Nick, we sometimes disagree, but you are right on with this. These "sportswriters" often never played the game. Sano is just starting to realize his immense talent. He needs to slim down though, but he is a star on the way up. These sports writers, not so much.

 

But maybe some criticism will motivate him.

 

 

 

[beckmt]

If Sano was to leave and go to a bigger city at the end of 6 years, this would look like pinpricks compared to how those fans react and sportswriters write.  Press here is Minnesota Nice compared to elsewhere, and Sano would have to get used to more hard core critisism elsewhere.  I do not know how the west coast writers are, but Chicago, New York, Boston and the like writers are vicious. 

[MangLitch]

First off, I'll preface this comment that I have a bias. Ruesse and Souhan are hack writers. If they have a strikeout rate, it's much higher than Sano when it comes to writing

 

Lastly, find it funny and ironic. A lazy article written about a player's lazy tendencies..... hmmm... didn't hear this in May when Sano was on a tear. I know it's click bait but I feel cheered for wasting my time reading that garbage. Souhan has a reputation for intentionally preposterous articles. Sure, Sano could be slimmer and strikeout less in a perfect world but who is perfect. We have other issues as a team and I think picking on a young star when he is on the DL is a FedEx Friday move

[ALessKosherScott]

I think the problem is that Sano is the best-hitting Twins third baseman since Killebrew, and also the worst-fielding Twins third baseman since Killebrew. There's also a reason men of a certain age will tell you Tony Olivia was the best Twins hitter of the 60s, which is a pretty hot sports taek.

 

As long as the Twins understand Sano's value, the local press can say whatever.

[Thrylos]

 

If Sano was to leave and go to a bigger city at the end of 6 years, this would look like pinpricks compared to how those fans react and sportswriters write.  Press here is Minnesota Nice compared to elsewhere, and Sano would have to get used to more hard core critisism elsewhere.  I do not know how the west coast writers are, but Chicago, New York, Boston and the like writers are vicious. 

 

Minnesota "nice" is the problem

 

Boston writers could have had a hayday with Ortiz's size, but they didn't.  They had one with Panda's.  Same with Sabathia in NYC.  When producing size did not matter.  When he stopped producing, size was an issue.

 

Production is the most important part.  And as long as Sano produces, there should be no issue.  

 

Remember "skinny" Delmon?  That was a farce on the field...  What if Sano loses thirty pounds and starts hitting like skinny Delmon?

[drjim]

Ominous news for Sano.

 

[USAFChief]

 

Ominous news for Sano.

That's not good.  Not good at all.